Automatic switch-controlling mechanism.



H. S. BLANKBNSHIP.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH CONTROLLING MECHANISM. APPLIOATION IILED MAR. 19, 1913.

1 ,O92,4=23. Patented Apf. 7, 1914,

2 BHEBTS-SHEET l.

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Bhxkenship COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO-IWASHINGTON, D. c.

H. S. BLANKENSHIP.

I AUTOMATIC SWITCH CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB-.19, 1913 1,092,423, Patented Apr. 7, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH CO.,WASHINOTDN. D. c.

rrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD S. BLANKENSHIP, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO B. E. OBENDORFER, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH-CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD S. BLANKnN- SHIP, a citizen of the Unit-ed States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Switch-Controlling Mechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inventlon, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to safety devices to be applied to railway switches.

My object is to provide a safety appliance comprising a novel construction and combination of parts, whereby a car passing over a section of track in advance of an open switch will automatically close the switch at the entrance to the siding and permit the car to continue along the main track.

Another object is to provide a safety appliance which is readily adaptable to use in connection with the ordinary forms of manually operated switches, and which will be set simultaneously and automatically with the opening of the switch.

Another object is to provide manually operable means independent of the switch operating means which must be operated to set certain parts of the appliance in order that a car may pass into the siding.

A still further object is to provide means for reliably retaining the parts of the appliance in adjusted position during the passage of cars thereover.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a section of main track and a switch connected therewith, with my improved safety device applied thereto. Fig. 2 represents a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of a section of the main track and a portion of the actuating means for the switch. Fig. 41 represents a longitudinal sectional view of the locking means for the switch operating point. Fig. 5 represents a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and 7 represent plan views of the different positions of the movable rail sections, and, Fig. 8 represents a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 represent the rails of the main track which are secured in the usual manner over the ties 3,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 19, 1913.

Patented Apr. *7, 1914..

Serial No. 755,398.

and A and 5 represent the points of a switch which are connected by a transverse bar 6, connected with the ordinary switch stand 7.

At a point outwardly of the switch a section of the main track 1 is removed and a base plate 8 interposed between the ends of the track. A base member 9 is pivoted to the base member 8 at 10 so as to provide a pivotal mounting for the rail section 11, which is rigidly secured to said base member 9. 'Abutments 12 are secured to the plate 8 for limiting the outward movement of the pivoted rail sect-ion 11 and also for bracing the latter. A second rail section 13 is pivoted at 14 to the end of the base member 9 opposite from that to which the latter is pivoted to the base member 8 and unlike the section 11, the section 13 is freely movable over the upper face of the base member 9. Slotted straps 15 are secured to a foundation laid between the ties 3 for receiving the plungers 16 connected with the movable section 13 for guiding and bracing the latter.

In Fig. 1, wherein the rail sections 11 and 13 are shown in their normal position, it will be seen that the section 13 is beveled at its free end so as to form a point and to permit the main portions of the two rail sections to lie in slightly diverged planes.

A rock shaft 17 is mounted outwardly and longitudinally of the rails of the track and is connected with the bar 6 by the link 18, the opposite end of said shaft being crooked so as to provide a crank arm which is connected with the pivoted base member 9 by a link 19.

As shown in Fig. 1, the switch is closed and the pivoted point 13 is disposed in alinement with the rail 1 of the main track so as to permit a car to pass undisturbed along the main track of the railway, however, when the switch points 4: and 5 are shifted to open position by movement of the bar 6, the shaft 17 is rocked and the plate 9 shifted to the position shown in Fig. (3. With the point 13 in this position, it is obvious that the wheels of a car passing thereover will shift the base member 9, rock the shaft 17 and automatically close the switch and prevent the car from taking the side track.

To shift the point 13 to the position shown in Fig. 7, so as to permit a car to pass onto the siding, I provide a hand lever 20 connected by the spring actuated bar 21 with the rock shaft 22, which latter is provided upon its inner end with a cam 23. A tread plate 24 is movably secured centrally to the rail 1 and is engaged under one end by the cam 23, and under the opposite end by the eccentric pin 25 carried by the rock shaft 26 which is connected with the signaling device 27 A plurality of channeled blocks 28 are arranged longitudinally of the rail 2 so as to form a housing for the bar 29 which is adapted to lie in juxtaposition to the rail 2. A plate 30 is pivoted along one of its longitudinal edges to the ears 31 carried by the blocks 28. The bar 29 is provided approximately at its center with a downwardly eX- tending pin 32 which is engaged in a yoked arm of a bell crank 33, the opposite arm of said crank being connected with the small end of the pivoted point l3by the lever 33. A link 34 connects an eccentric pin on the shaft 26 with the adjacent end of the bar 29.

The abutment 41 on the bar 6 is adapted to engage an arm of a bell crank 42 when the bar 6 is moved to close the switch. The other arm of the bell crank is connected by a link 35 and the lever 43 to the bar 21 thereby preventing the hand lever 20 from being actuated until after the bar 6 has been shifted and the rail sections 11 and 13 moved to the position shown in Fig. 6.

When it is desired to permit a car running from left to right along the main track to enter the siding, the switch operator first shifts the bar 6, thus opening the points 4 and 5. This operation automatically sets the rail sections 11 and 13 in the position shown in Fig. 6, and it is obvious that, unless the movable point 13 is withdrawn from engagement with the movable rail section 11, as in Fig. 7, the car passing over said point will automatically close the switch and thus prevent the car from taking the siding. Therefore, the switch operator operates the hand lever 20 to set the tread plate 24 above the surface of the rail, where it will be engaged by the wheels of the passing car. The car then proceeds and in passing over the tread plate depresses the same and simultaneously turns the point 13 upon its pivot to the position shown in Fig. 7 so as to permit the car to pass thereover, without changing the position of the switch points 4 and 5. The position of the pivoted plate 30 in relation to the tread plate 24 is such that when the wheel on one side of the car engages and depresses the tread plate 24, the Wheel upon the opposite side of the car will engage the plate 30 after the bar 29 has been shifted in the direction of the dotted arrow in Fig. 1 and has withdrawn the point 13 from operative position. The surface of the plate 30 normally lies in a plane slightly above the tread surface of the rail 2, and it is therefore apparent that the wheels of the car passing over said plate will forcibly bind the bar 29 in the bot-tom of the channel in the blocks 28 and thus reliably hold the point 13 in adjusted position. After the car has passed the plate 30, the tension of the spring 35 automatically shifts the point 13 to the position shown in Fig. 6, and should the switchman fail to close the points 4 and 5 after the car has passed into the siding, the next succeeding car traveling in the same direction as the first car will be prevented from taking said siding because the wheels of said car engaging the obliquely disposed point 13 will shift the base member 9 upon the pivot 10 and through the medium of the rock shaft 17, and bar 6, automatically close the points 4 and 5.

A second tread plate 24 is mounted against the rail 1 in the same manner as the tread plate 24. The outer end of the tread plate 24 is mounted over an eccentric 35 on one end of a rock shaft 36, and the opposite end of said rock shaft is connected with the bar 29 by a link 37 The opposite end of the tread plate 24 is supported upon a cam 38, connected with the rock shaft 17 by the link 39, so that when the points 4 and 5 of the switch are shifted to open position, the tread plate 24 is raised to operative position by the link 39 and cam 38.

When a car is moving from right to left out of the siding, the wheels thereof will engage the tread plate 24*, partially rotating the rock shaft 36, and moving the bar 29 longitudinally in the direction of the arrow, thus withdrawing the point 13 from the rail section 11.

. A look bar 40, is slidably secured to the outer face of the rail 1, and is adapted tobe moved against the rail section 11, when the latter is moved into alinement with the rail 1. The lock bar 40, is connected to a pivoted lever 45, which latter is also connected to a bell crank 46, by a link 47, and the other arm of the bell crank is connected by a link 48, to the lever 33 whereby the lock bar 40, will be shifted to operative position to support the rail section 11, in alinement with the rail 1, when the lever 33 is moved outwardly to withdraw the small end of the point 13.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a switch operating mechanism, of means connected therewith adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for moving said switch operating mechanism into inoperative position, said means including a longitudinally movable member, and a pivoted plate engaging said longitudinally movable member, adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a train.

2. The combination with a switch operating mechanism, of means connected therewith adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for moving said switch operating mechanism into inoperative position, said last mentioned means including a longitudinally movable member adapted to be frictionally bound during the passage of a train thereover, for retaining the switch operating mechanism in inoperative position.

3. The combination with a switch operat ing mechanism; of means connected therewith adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for moving said switch operating mechanism into inoperative position, said means including a longitudinally movable member adapted to be frictionally locked to retain the means in inoperative position, and a plate pivoted over said movable member.

4. The combination with a switch operating mechanism; of means connected therewith adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for moving said switch operating mechanism into inoperative position said means including a longitudinally movable member adapted to be locked by the movement of a train thereover for re taining said means in inoperative position, and a sectional support for said movable member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOWARD S. BLANKENSHIP.

Witnesses M. RIoKARD, GHAs. A. MOWRY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

